Day #1

WOW!!!! What an action packed day! Our day started off very early this morning... at least for Makenzie and I. Her first dance was at 8:30, but she had to be ready to dance by 7:30. Her team did very well, and earned a third place ribbon. Company 1

Bethany and Madison did their ballet duet this morning at 11:00.

Bethany, Ms. Dorothy, and Madison before going on stage.

They were great. I was a proud mama. This is how they did......

FIRST PLACE!!!! Great job girls!

After dancing, we made our way outside and down to Times Square, Broadway, and 5th Avenue. I could SO be a rich person. :-)

The Toys R Us ferris wheel. The girls are in the lego car... that you can't see.

Part of the gigantic Barbie house.

A mechanical T-Rex. Very loud and life like.

The Statue of Liberty made out of Legos.

When we FINALLY got out of Toys R Us.... we walked toward Broadway and down 5th Avenue.

Carnegie Hall

The Today Show anchordesk. We will be there Monday morning.

5th Avenue BABY!!!!!

We spotted some celebrities.... Guess who??

Donald Trump's children leaving the office and heading to the Plaza Hotel....... We only know this because we were star struck crazies that followed them. By the way, she can walk very fast in 4 inch heels!!!

Madison found her namesake....the street sign in the movie Splash :-)

For dinner this evening, my friend Stephanie Howell made arrangements for dinner with a family that they've known for many years. The restaurant was Fresco and it was excellent. We were told after we got there that many TV celebs eat there. Matt Lauer being one of them!!!The Simpson Ladies

Our dessert tray~ YUMMY!!!!

After dinner, we walked down 5th Avenue again. The weather is absolutely PERFECT!!!

The Plaza Hotel

A Chinese Vogue shoot

Waiting Patiently

Today we began our journey to NYC. We arrived at the airport an hour early... which for the Simpson family can be a journey in itself.

Mason getting some last minute hugs before his all male week with Daddy begins.
There were some misty eyes behind those glasses. He was too sweet!!
Janene, Bethany, Makenzie, and Madison at the gate ready to board the plane.

We boarded the plane and headed out a little delayed, but nothing substantial. Watching the girls' faces while we were taking off was so fun. They have flown only once before and they were very small and don't remember it. The flight was non eventful. Around 30 minutes before we were to land, the pilot came on and told us that we were in a holding pattern for a while due to traffic at La Guardia. I continued to read and thought nothing of it. The next announcement we received was that we were headed to Columbus Ohio to refuel and wait for clearance to fly to LGA. We arrived in Columbus, ate a late lunch, and waited and waited to find out if we were going to get to fly out! They were cancelling flights that were originating in Columbus, so it was a little nerveracking thinking we might be spending the night there.....The waiting was the hardest part.

We finally got to reboard in Columbus and we arrived in NYC around 7:15.

We had reserved a limo for the ride to the hotel. The girls were excited about that.

We checked into the hotel, dropped our bags off, and headed out the door for dinner. We made our way through Times Square to the Hard Rock Cafe for a late dinner.

This video was one that played while we were there.

We left the Hard Rock at 11:30 p.m. and when we walked outside it looked like noon. The lights in Times Square are amazing.

We have some very tired girls that are dancing tomorrow...... Talk to you soon~

4 months.... 4 minutes.... 4 days.... What's the big deal?

So what if I haven't posted to my blog in a while...... Everyone cheats on their New Year's Resolutions.

Here's a summary of the last 4 months~

• February 17th, Makenzie turned 10. On her actual birthday I took her and Emma to Chic Fil A.A few weeks later, she had an awesome scavenger hunt birthday party at the mall with friends. I can't find the disk with the pictures... and that's the BIGGEST reason that I've not posted. I don't want to be accused of playing favorites.. I'm not.




• For Spring Break, we did nothing. So no fun vacation pictures to post.





• At the end of March, the girls danced in their dance competition in Tulsa. They both did very well, and qualified to dance in New York City this summer!!!



• In April, we had Easter which is always a favorite holiday of mine.



• In April, our church hosted Team Impact, a group of very strong body builders who share the Gospel through their feats of strength. Mason was absolutely CRAZY about these guys. He talked of nothing else for weeks. He wanted to play Team Impact all the time, and practiced his own feats of strength.

This guy's name was Greg. So happens that a mom at my school dated this guy in college. (And no those aren't blow up muscles under that shirt)

My little muscle man

• In May, I applied and interviewed for the principal's position at my school. I made it to the final 3.. and then wasn't selected. But that's okay, because I am going to ENJOY the extra 2 weeks at home this summer.

That kind of catches you up. I probably won't add anything else until our trip to New York!!

The First Decade

Makenzie reached a first this week..... she finished her first decade of life! I can't believe she is already 10. So in her honor, here are 10 of my favorite things about Makenzie in no particular order.....


10. She still loves to cuddle up on my lap and call me Mommy.


9. She is so friendly. She can make a friend in 20 seconds or less ANYWHERE she goes.

8. She has a funny, sweet laugh.

7. She doesn't get into all the 4th grade girl DRAMA that is rampant in this age group.... I am so thankful for that.

6. She likes to shop and appreciates cute clothes, and still lets me pick out her clothes.

5. She loves to spend time with her Daddy and is interested in anything he is into at the time. (hunting, golf, basketball, etc...)


4. yet... She is a girly girl :-)

3. She has a good set of vocals cords and can sing like a little angel.

2. She will try any type of food once to see if she likes it.

1. She is full of hugs and kisses for her family.

Happy Birthday my sweet little Kiki~

I love you,

Mom

Birthday Pictures

This past Saturday I took Madison to get her birthday pictures taken. She got a haircut and then we ran to the mall to The Picture People. We were there about 15 minutes, the photographer got a couple of good shots, and we went across the street to Melody's Choices while we waited to see the proofs.

Let's just say that The Picture People are really good at marketing their products. When we returned 15 minutes later, this is what I saw...

They had blown it up to a 10 x 20 portrait, and placed it in a matted frame. It looked like a Vogue Model Photo shoot....... They only wanted $150 for the portrait. Stan was pleased that I settled for my free 8x10.

Here are a couple of other pics that really do capture her personality. She insisted on the sassy black and white with her hand on her hip. She actually posed this way on her own and asked the photographer to take the picture. There were many more shots to choose from.... but I was happy with my $22 TOTAL purchase. (so was Stan....)

Happy Birthday Madison~

The Best Dozen of All

Today our sweet Madison turned 12. I have done the math, and today is the first day of the last year in my home without teenagers until the year 2024. How's that for an eye opener???

Madison Victoria- 12 years and 1 hour old

(this picture was taken at 11:16 p.m. after being up since 6 am)

Madison is growing into such a neat young lady with the best personality ever.. To celebrate her special day.. here are 12 of the many special things about Madison.

1. She is fluent in saracasm (which is my native language)

2. She has an amazing memory... which works to my detriment many times.

3. She is an A+ speed reader.. and she loves to read! She can finish a novel in a day or two.

4. Her intelligence is scary! She's never taken an IQ test, but I'd bet it's sky high.

5. She loves to dance, and she's very graceful and pretty in ballet.

6. She makes friends easily, but isn't into the "girly popularity crap". She can take a crowd or leave a crowd. She's not afraid to march alone.

7. Her musical ability is one of her favorite qualities of mine. She started playing the violin this year, and has a pretty good feel for it.

8. She is passionate about what she believes in, and will stand firm in that.

9. She is a risk taker and daredevil. (Not sure where that comes from....)

10. She is very polite and respectful to those around her.

11. She has a very wide vocabulary, and is very descriptive in her language (verbal and written) She uses phrases and words that make me laugh on a daily basis.

12. She has a very tender heart for others.

Madison~ you are a treasure, and so much fun to have as a daughter. It's hard to believe that you are now a pre-teen. I am so proud of you and the person you are becoming each and every day.

I love you my Moose girl~

Mom

Angel Babies

As you can see, I've added a couple of links on the left side of the page. Two sweet families in our church had their first babies last week. Both of the babies were air flighted to different hospitals- one to Tulsa, the other to Little Rock. Both Harper and Brayden are making remarkable strides in their recovery, but they still need our prayers. I remember our best friends, Jack and Michelle Doshier, going through similar circumstances with their oldest child, Will. He was Angel Choppered out of Fayetteville to the Children's Hospital in Little Rock. Those days seem like ions ago. Will received the millions of prayers for his recovery 6 years ago, and here is the result of those prayers.....

Michelle and Will Doshier

So keep remembering the Stamps and Wileys and the healing of their babies.